With the Year of the Wooden Sheep fast approaching, we figured all our readers needed a leg up on the competition and believe us, it is a rat race out there.

You're up for promotion but so is everyone else at your level. Workload isn't getting any lighter so you'll have to stay extra hours. Meanwhile, traffic is a mess and it is scheduled to get worse so it's going to take every ounce of will power to be punctual at work.

So many challenges and there's only so much you can do.

Do yourself a favor and read on as we tell you about how a little Feng Shui for your car may just do wonders for your life.

What is Feng Shui?

Religion is definitely what it is not. Very simply, Master Hanz Cua defines it is as a scientific way of getting physical elements of your life in order to allow you to harness positive energy to enhance prosperity, love and luck.

I know you've heard of houses and offices getting Feng Shuied but why your car? Just remember, with the commuting hours we go through every work day, we might be spending more time in the car than out of it.

In that case, it may be a good idea to make sure that only the choicest 'chi' in the universe is flowing through it every time you turn the ignition on and hit the road.

Feng Shui your head first

Your car can be Feng Shui'd a million times over but if the person behind the wheel is out of control, what's the point.

The point is... it all starts with YOU.

Keep a cool head is number one. How can you expect positive energy to flow in if you're spewing out one negative expletive after another at either the traffic, the bus driver or that a#$^&le in the underbone bike that cut you off.

Search for your 'center' and find inner peace during the most stressful of traffic jams or even when a Dela Rosa bus turns your Vios into a crumpled can because even if the returns aren't monetary, at least your BP stayed below 120/80.

If you're keeping count, second would be preventing cars from merging into your lane, third is flashing the dirty finger, fourth is blocking an intersection and so on and so forth.

In the words of the Master Hanz, 'happy driving, good mood, good energy.'

Buy Your color

No, not your favorite color since your were in Grade 1 but the one that corresponds to the date you were born. You can either consult a Feng Shui master or buy a Feng Shui calendar to find out your lucky hue. That way it stays the same all throughout your life so you won't have to change it every year, even if you can afford to but in that case you're already prosperous enough then.

A date and time for everything

There's also the right time for you to buy a car and it's in that calendar. Just because you have a sackful of cash now doesn't mean you should just stroll into a dealership and pick whatever you like. Again there's a science to this and if you want a chance to make more sacks of money, you'll listen.

If you already have a car and unfortunately it is not 'your' color and you can't afford to have it repainted, you'd still be able to channel positive energy by just matching items inside the vehicle with your lucky color; could be the seat covers, a pillow, floor mats, etc.

Bless it or cleanse it, same thing

Master Hanz suggests that, regardless of your belief, you can either have the vehicle blessed by a priest of cleansed by a Feng Shui master.

The principle is the same, scare away and keep away evil spirits so they don't tag along and become permanent hitchhikers.

You've all familiar with the Balete Drive story and trust me, you don't want to be a cautionary tale recounting the time you became a 'victim' of that specter that appeared in the rear-view as you were driving down Balete Drive in the middle of the night.

Bless it, cleanse it or do both if you can. I would.

Plates and Parking

In Chinese, 1 stands for road, 6 means leading and 8 is for prosperity. It is for this simple reason that the most desired digits of a vehicle's license plate is 168. If all other alphanumeric combinations of it are already taken, you'll still be ok with 118, 138, 888, 868 and other variations of 8s with other digits but consult Master Hanz just to be sure.

As much as possible, don't park underneath a flight of stairs or beside a post. Feng Shui indicates that these areas have unwanted negative energy. If you so unfortunately have been assigned this slot in your condo or office, Master Hanz suggests to counter it by placing a small mirror on your vehicle's side mirror facing the stairs or post to send back all the negative vibes.

Also, if given the opportunity to choose, pick a well-lighted area and avoid slots with the number 4.

Symbols you can bring

As for tokens and/or likenesses that invoke wealth, prosperity or plain safety, one can fall back on the faith they follow.

You can't go wrong with a wealth Buddha if that's what you believe in or if you're part of the close to 99 million Catholics in the country, a Sto. Niño or a statue of Mary will do just fine.

There could be many more items that symbolize or may attract positive energy and for that you're going to need a full-on Feng Shui consultation.

Keep it clean, inside and out

Feng Shui can be done with as simple as cleaning the interior to rearranging things. A cluttered car may certainly affect your mood causing more unncessary stress as you go about your day or while stuck in traffic. There are some that even recommend sprinkling some sea salt inside to "purify" the car. Likewise, you wouldn't want to go out driving your car that is filthy and unkept.

Regularly maintain your car

We can never fail to stress that a well-maintaned car will be the best car you wiill ever have. A car you don't maintain will break down and cause delays. No matter what kind of good luck charm, color, blessing or Feng Shui master you consult.

After speaking to Master Hanz, Feng Shui now sounds less like hocus-pocus and more like common sense. If you think about it, it really is just a highly meticulous organization of one's property, whether it's a house, office or vehicle. If things are a mess and chaotic, can you really concentrate and do what needs to be done to be successful?

Thought so.

Whether you believe in it or not, the question is, will it really hurt if you try?

If it doesn't work, at least you own a clean vehicle that's in tip-top shape and you'll have a better driving demeanor. If it does work, just don't forget us on your way to the top.